Truth
by Alessandra Guiseppe
Summary: Someone is slipping Truth Potion into the food at Hogwarts. People are blabbing thier inner-most secrets. The house-elves aren't talking. Who is doing it?
1. The Way of Wizards

Chapter I  
  
1.1.1 The Way of Wizards  
  
  
  
"Aggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  
  
"Lily! What's wrong?"  
  
Rose Evans walked into the living room to find her younger daughter holding a letter handwritten in green and screaming her lungs out. Rose grabbed Lily and shook her violently. Lily had never done this before, but Rose was used to her other, older daughter doing this. Petunia was spoilt. Lily quieted down so Rose snatched the letter and read it. This is what it said:  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)  
  
  
  
Dear Miss Evans,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.  
  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
Rose felt like screaming herself. Was this someone's idea of a cruel joke? It didn't sound like it. Lily sat on the floor staring at another piece of parchment, looking very much like she would scream again. Rose took this piece away too. This is what it said:  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
  
  
  
UNIFORM  
  
First-year students will require:  
  
Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
  
One pointed hat (black) for day wear  
  
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
  
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags  
  
COURSE BOOKS  
  
All students should have a copy of the following:  
  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) By Miranda Goshawk  
  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self- Protection by Quentin Trimble  
  
  
  
OTHER EQUIPMENT  
  
1 wand  
  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
  
1 set glass of crystal phials  
  
1 telescope  
  
1 set brass scales  
  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS  
  
"Lily, do you know anything about these letters?" Rose asked sternly.  
  
"No, ma'am, she doesn't, but I do," Lily's best friend Celeste walked in the door. She held a letter identical to the one Rose held.  
  
"Is it some kind of practical joke someone is playing on people?"  
  
"No, ma'am, it's dead serious."  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"So let me get this straight. Your dad's a wizard, you're a witch, and I'm a witch. And tomorrow your dad is taking us to London to get school supplies?"  
  
"To Diagon Alley to be exact. It's a wizard street. Yep, you got it."  
  
"What does this Minerva McGonagall mean by "we await your owl no later than July 31"?  
  
"McGonagall is the Transfiguration professor. Owls are wizard messengers."  
  
"Oh, so that's why my letter came by owl?"  
  
"You got it!"  
  
Lily Evans and her friend Celeste Fortuna were discussing the wizard world. Lily kept thanking her lucky stars that she had a friend who was also going to Hogwarts. That would make the transition much easier. Also she was glad that Celeste's father was a wizard and he knew where to get their school supplies.  
  
"So, what all will we learn at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Well, there's Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flying Lessons, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic for first years. Once you get into the third year you get extra classes like Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Divination, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, Flitwick teaches Charms, Hartmann teaches Potions, nobody knows who's doing Defense Against the Dark Arts, Madam Hooch does Flying, Sprout does Herbology, and Binns has History of Magic. Don't ask me who teaches the extra classes, 'cause I don't know. Oh, yeah, Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster."  
  
"Who's in charge of the wizards? I mean, like do they have a king?"  
  
"Oh, no. There's the Ministry of Magic. And the Minister of Magic. They're in charge of keeping our world form the Muggles. Oh, I forgot to tell you about Quidditch! It's a wizard sport played on broomsticks. There are four balls; 2 Bludgers, a Quaffle and a Snitch. There are 7 people on each team; 2 Beaters, 3 Chasers, a Keeper, and a Seeker. There are 6 big hoops, three on each side of the Quidditch field. The Keeper guards them from the other teams' Chasers. The Chasers get the Quaffle, which is a soccer-sized red ball, and they try to throw it through the other team's hoops to get a goal. One goal is worth 10 points. The Bludgers are these black balls that fly around and try to knock people off their brooms. The Beaters have these little clubs that they use to hit the Bludgers toward the other team's players. The Snitch is a tiny winged gold ball that the Seekers try to catch. Since it is so small, it's hard to see and even harder to catch. Once it is caught, though, the team that catches it gets 150 points, so they almost always win. The game is only over when it is caught."  
  
Lily looked stunned. "How can you remember all of that?"  
  
"Daddy drills me," Celeste replied with a grin.  
  
"You have got to be kidding!"  
  
"Nope. He wants me to be Head Girl like he was Head Boy. I, frankly, don't want to. I can't get out of his lessons though. The Quidditch one was one of the best. Then he made me memorize everything about the history of Hogwarts. Next he's going to tell me how to get practically anywhere in Hogwarts. Next summer he's got me down for potion ingredients, charms, and all the departments in the Ministry of Magic. He's determined for me to work for them, but I want to be an Auror, instead of some stuffy old head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. That's what my dad is and I've never seen anyone so square! I'm more like my mom, wild and carefree. Her name was Julia Arilio and she was a beautiful, spirited young witch. How she ever fell for my father, the old-fashioned Ministry worker, I'll never know. Maybe she didn't, because no one on either side of the family looks a thing like me."  
  
Lily could see what Celeste meant. Celeste had these big, round, beautiful, bright blue eyes. She also had light brown hair, a small, nimble body, and a tanned complexion. Mr. Fortuna, who definitely was not as lighthearted as his name, had graying dark brown hair and gray eyes. He was tall, pale, and had a rather ample waist. In general he looked nothing like his daughter. Celeste pulled out a picture of her mother and showed it to Lily. The picture showed a young witch, obviously at her graduation, with dark green eyes and silky auburn hair. Mrs. Fortuna looked nothing like her daughter, with the exception of the two of them having the same sparkle in their eyes. Lily had the idea that she had seen Mrs. Fortuna before…  
  
" Momma's family looks exactly like her and Daddy's family look exactly like him. I don't think Daddy thinks I'm his child either. He doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to me and when he has to talk to me, except for during lessons, he has this faraway look in his eyes. Honestly I don't mind, but it's kind of hard to live practically by yourself."  
  
Celeste got this watery look in her beautiful eyes and Lily looked about desperately for a distraction to make Celeste forget about her father. Her eyes fell upon the picture of Mrs. Fortuna. Suddenly the beautiful young witch smiled and waved at Lily. Of course Lily screamed, snapping Celeste out of her reverie. Celeste shot Lily a grin.  
  
"I forgot to tell you… wizard pictures move if you develop them in the right potion!"  
  
"Oh, okay… That's a bit strange, but life isn't exactly normal for a- wait, what word would I use to say I'm not wizard born?"  
  
"You would use Muggle, and wizards and witches who are born to wizarding families are called pure-bloods. Yeah, strange things happen in the wizarding world. Just remember, everything that people claim can never happen always will."  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"Oh my Lord! This is incredible!" Lily Evans gasped. The Fortunas and Lily were at Diagon Alley. Lily was stunned, literally. There were cafés, broomstick shops, and robe shops. There was an animal menagerie, a wand shop, and even a shop called an apothecary. A large white marble building loomed over all of the shops.  
  
"Gringotts," Celeste muttered out of the side of her mouth. "The wizard bank."  
  
Lily tried to speak but found she couldn't. She could only look. And there was plenty to look at.  
  
"Well, let's get on to Gringotts. You have got Muggle money, haven't you?"  
  
"Yes," Lily said mechanically and automatically. She could stand there and stare all day. Mr. Fortuna moved toward the giant marble building, and Lily had to follow. She most certainly didn't want to get lost here.  
  
Lily climbed the stairs up to Gringotts staring. Her brilliant green eyes were wide, taking everything in. "Celeste, have you been here before?"  
  
"Yah, loads of times. It's cool, isn't it?"  
  
"Definitely," Lily replied, still staring. "Celeste, what in the world is that?" Lily gasped in terror.  
  
"A goblin. They run Gringotts," Celeste answered, almost impassively.  
  
Lily followed Celeste and Mr. Fortuna up to a goblin that wasn't doing anything. Mr. Fortuna took a small golden key from his pocket and told the goblin which vault he wanted to withdraw from.  
  
"Also, we would like to exchange some Muggle money for wizarding money," Mr. Fortuna informed the goblin. Lily stepped up to the counter and pulled out a wad of twenty-pound notes. She gave them to the goblin and he gave her a rather large bag filled with gold, silver, and bronze coins.  
  
"Dracoclaw!" the goblin called. Another goblin came over and beckoned the Fortunas and Lily to follow him through a door. A cart greeted them and Lily followed Mr. Fortuna and Celeste's example by climbing into the cart. Once all were in the cart it hurtled down the tracks. Lily soon felt very queasy so she closed her eyes and didn't open them until the cart abruptly stopped. Dracoclaw climbed out of the cart and Mr. Fortuna followed. Dracoclaw took out Mr. Fortuna's key and unlocked the door of the vault, then opened it. Inside there were heaps of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Mr. Fortuna took out a large bag and filled it with coins, mostly gold ones.  
  
"The gold coins are called Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the bronze ones are Knuts," Celeste muttered out of the side of her mouth. "I forgot to tell you that."  
  
Lily was glad to be out of the stygian gloom of the stone tunnels in Gringotts and back into the open light of Diagon Alley.  
  
"Celeste, I trust you not to get lost. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in three hours. I'll see you then." Mr. Fortuna instructed his daughter. He then stalked off in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. Then he stopped, obviously remembering something. "And stay away from Knockturn Alley!" he called back to them.  
  
Celeste rolled her eyes. "I always hope he'll forget to tell me that."  
  
"So, what should we get first?" Lily asked timidly.  
  
"Hmm, the uniform is at the top of the list, so let's get that first."  
  
Celeste replied. She gestured toward one of the shops. "There's Madam Malkin's, it'll do."  
  
The two friends walked into the shop. They were greeted by a squat, smiling witch dressed all in peach. "Hogwarts, dears? Follow me and we'll get you fitted up."  
  
Lily and Celeste followed Madam Malkin back to the back. They both stood on footstools whilst Madam Malkin and another witch pulled black robes over their heads and pinned them into place.  
  
"Okay, dears, you're done. So, you need three sets of black robes, one black pointed hat, dragon hide gloves, and a black cloak with silver trimmings, right?"  
  
"I want six sets of robes, two hats, and two black cloaks. Also, I want a set of silver robes, a silver pointed hat, and a wrap of ermine fur, if you would, please," Celeste rapped out smartly.  
  
"Yes, of course, my dear. Wait by the counter up front please. Would you like anything extra, dear?" Madam Malkin said directly to Lily.  
  
Lily looked rather uncomfortable. "No, thank you," she replied timidly.  
  
Madam Malkin disappeared through a door at the back of the room and Celeste led the way back up to the front counter. Madam Malkin appeared a moment later, her arms full of robes, cloaks, hats, and two boxes labeled, "Dragon Hide Gloves".  
  
Lily and Celeste left the store after paying, Lily with one silver shopping bag and Celeste with three. Celeste set down the bags and pulled out her school supply list. "Okay, next on the list is- sir, step around the bags, thank you- the spell books. Next door is Flourish and Blotts. Might as well go there- sir, I beg your pardon, but stop hanging around! I'll not allow you to steal from me, nor my companion. I also might warn you I am a boxing and karate champion," Celeste was addressing a boy who looked about their age with black hair and glasses. Another black haired boy, who was rather handsome, accompanied him. Both were grinning.  
  
"James! Sirius! Leave them alone!" a brown haired boy burst out of Flourish and Blotts shouting at the grinning black haired boys, sounding rather exasperated.  
  
"Thank you, sah, very much. Fiends of thei' sort should noo be allowed to 'ave the honor of being in your presence." Celeste gestured at the other two boys, and then addressed them. "Sirs, have ye noo care of what uther people think of yer revolting manners? Why be et ye speaketh noo words? Be ye too stoopid to talk?" Celeste fell into a Scottish accent.  
  
"Celeste, why are you talking like that? I never knew you were Scottish!"  
  
"Me muther was. I only use her accent when I speak to noo good heathens of tha' sort!" Celeste gestured at the smirking black-headed boys.  
  
"Please excuse her," Lily said to the brown-haired boy, "she has a sharp temper and a low tolerance. I'm Lily Evans."  
  
"I'm Remus Lupin, and she has an excuse to get snappy with those two," the brown-haired boy said, shaking Lily's hand warmly.  
  
"Simply marvelous to meet you, my dear! The name's Sirius Black, and I am at your disposal, my fair maiden. I would be even more so at the disposal of your friend if she would allow me near her…"  
  
"Over, Sirius. I am James Potter, and I am very pleased to meet you. Please excuse my infantile behavior a moment ago. I- ahem - couldn't pass up the opportunity."  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, sir. I don't believe we've met. You say you're a Potter? Hmm, good wizarding family, if I remember my lessons correctly. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Celestia Venushra Anplutoi Andraes Fortuna, but call me Celeste. And, you, Sirius, the moment I hear a proper apology I will be ready for a formal introduction. And Remus, I say, you must have quite a time trying to control these two. I personally admire your ability to still have hair after putting up with them. Speaking of you two, why were you hanging about Lily and myself? I am a boxing and karate champion, and I could've protected us, but why did you keep following us?"  
  
The three boys stood there staring at her. Finally Sirius spoke.  
  
"Yes, well, I'm Sirius Black you know and that was supposed to be a formal introduction so will you go out with me because you are really hot and I'm already drooling over you. Please say yes?"  
  
"Sorry Sirius, but I don't go out with someone until I've known them for at least six months," Celeste replied, giving him a puppy-dog look that made her eyes look even cuter than ever. Sirius and James actually did start drooling. Remus rolled his eyes and spoke.  
  
"Yes, well, we'd better be off. You two are first years, right?" Celeste and Lily nodded solemnly. "At Hogwarts?' They nodded again. "Okay, then, we'll see you in there in two weeks, okay?"  
  
"Of course, Remus. Here's hoping you still have hair by then!"  
  
Celeste missed the admiring look he shot her.  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"You like him!"  
  
"I do not!"  
  
"You do!"  
  
'I don't!"  
  
Lily was trying to get Celeste to admit she liked either Sirius or Remus. Lily wasn't quite sure which yet, but she was sure it was one of them. She found herself mildly attracted to James, but wasn't going to admit it to Celeste, not just yet.  
  
"I'll bet you three Galleons that you like James!" Celeste boasted. Lily went red and muttered something like, "So what?" under her breath. Celeste looked stunned at Lily's behavior and raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "You do like him? Wow, Lily, I never thought…"  
  
"Just a bit. I'll raise the stakes to five Galleons you like…hmm, let me see… I know it's either Sirius or Remus… but which one?"  
  
Celeste gave Lily a shy look and beckoned her to come closer. Lily leaned forward eagerly, but jumped back suddenly when Celeste burst out, "I DON'T LIKE EITHER OF THEM, OKAY!", startling two old witches browsing the Apothecary.  
  
"If you didn't you wouldn't get so touchy about it!" Lily replied matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh, I'm not touchy, not at all!" Celeste shot back sarcastically.  
  
Lily snorted in reply. 


	2. Disclaimer

'Truth' Author's Note  
  
Disclaimer: Umm, yes. I don't own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter (honestly, who would want to!), or Remus. Damn. I do, however, own the plot and Celeste and any other made up characters that appear in later chapters. 


	3. Of Friends & Enemies

Chapter 2  
  
1.1 Of Friends and Enemies  
  
"Oh, no. It's the dynamic duo," Celeste muttered to Lily out of the side of her mouth. Lily noticed that Celeste's eyes lit up when she saw Sirius and Remus sitting at a booth in the Leaky Cauldron with James. Celeste made her way over to their booth, signaling a waiter as she went. Lily followed timidly in her wake. She was wary of Celeste telling James about her crush on him.  
  
"Hmm, I'll have a large butterbeer," James told the waiter.  
  
"Same," chorused Sirius, Remus, and Celeste.  
  
"And you?" the waiter turned to Lily.  
  
"Same, I guess," Lily shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Have you ever had a butterbeer?" asked James after the waiter had taken their order and left.  
  
Lily shook her head. "Nope. I'm Muggle born. Didn't know a thing about wizards until I got the letter."  
  
"You won't be wanting to flaunt that, Mudblood," a cold voice said behind them. James and Sirius stood up to meet the newcomer, a boy with sleek blonde hair and icy gray eyes. Two others, burly and muscular, flanked the boy. Even Remus looked outraged. He didn't even try to stop James and Sirius from rising to meet the blonde boy. Celeste looked angry too.  
  
"Malfoy," James hissed. "Lucius Malfoy. We meet again. I didn't think you'd dare come back after our last meeting."  
  
Malfoy's ears turned faint pink. "You come from an old wizarding family, Potter. You shouldn't stick up for Mudbloods like that scum right there. What is she, your girlfriend?" Malfoy said in a taunting voice.  
  
"In my dreams," James said. He didn't blush the least bit. Lily felt pride coming from deep inside her. He wanted to go out with her and was sticking up for her!  
  
"You're one to talk about girlfriends. Don't think for a moment I haven't heard about you and that Narcissa Zirrus. The news of you and her at Vincent Goyle's party last summer has leaked out."  
  
Lucius Malfoy turned a deep shade of crimson and stalked away sulkily.  
  
James and Sirius sat back down as though nothing had happened. James' ears were finally turning pink and Sirius seemed to be attempting to hold in hearty laughter. He finally gave in and his loud guffaw scared an old couple.  
  
"What was that that Malfoy called me?" Lily innocently asked.  
  
"Mudblood," Sirius replied with a disgusted look on his face. "A very rude name for a wizard or witch who's Muggle born." The waiter brought their drinks and all toasted the others and drunk deeply from their glasses, with the exception of James. He seemed to be having problems breathing and was turning the color of a plum.  
  
"Mmm, this stuff is good. Really warms you up," Lily said, referring to the butterbeer.  
  
For some reason, this made James turn even redder. He opened his mouth, obviously trying to say something, but only a strangled gurgle escaped his mouth. Sirius was about to suffocate from lack of air because he was laughing too much to breath. Fellow diners were annoyed and glared at the table and it's occupants.  
  
James regained some sense of self and beckoned for Lily to follow him. People were now watching with interest as the red faced black haired boy led the pretty girl with emerald eyes and locks of fire out of the restaurant.  
  
"Lily, I'm sorry I said that I wanted you to be my girlfriend," James began in a voice so clear it was obvious that he had been acting that he couldn't speak. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thought that just popped out. I'm hoping you'll forgive me," James spoke so sincerely that Lily couldn't help but soften to him.  
  
"James Potter, your apologies are most graciously accepted. Now, I'm ready for more butterbeer. What do you say we go back in?"  
  
"I heartily agree. Sitting there pretending to be embarrassed while your friends drink butterbeer is not the best way to spend a morning."  
  
Lily grinned back at the trademark Potter smile.  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"Shit! Lily, we forgot our wands! We only have fifteen minutes before dad comes to pick us up! Shit, shit, shit!" Celeste shrieked, staring at her supply list.  
  
"Language, Fortuna, language," Sirius told Celeste languidly. She turned on him angrily and stuck her middle finger up at him.  
  
"You probably hear this all the time, but you're cute when you're mad," Sirius continued, looking rather alarmed at her boldness.  
  
James checked his watch. "Ollivander's is right inside Diagon Alley. My dad isn't coming for us until 2o'clock, so we can come with you."  
  
"Great, Potter, you'll be a lot of help," Celeste said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"We can create a diversion to distract your father if you're running late," Remus volunteered.  
  
"We'll save that for last minute. Let's get over there fast, or you'll have to think up a long divisionary tactic."  
  
"A long what?" asked Sirius as the walked out of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Divisionary tactic. You know, a plan to distract somebody," Celeste stated. Noting his puzzled look, she added, "I only know that because I want to be either an assassin or to be involved in espionage for the Ministry."  
  
They walked through the entrance to Diagon Alley. Once inside Celeste ran to Ollivander's. "Why'd you run?" Lily asked Celeste.  
  
"Saw my dad," she replied simply.  
  
"Mr. Ollivander!" Celeste shouted at the rows of narrow boxes and a spindly chair. An older man poked his head out from behind a shelf. "Yes?"  
  
"We need wands, two of them, hurry if you can!" Lily gasped out.  
  
"You… and you, right?"  
  
"Yes!" they shouted exasperatedly.  
  
Mr. Ollivander pulled out two silver tape measures. They began measuring the two girls as he scurried through the stacks, pulling out this box and that box.  
  
Celeste soon got her wand; a wand that Mr. Ollivander said was good for attack and defense work, 133/4 in, dragon heartstring, birch. Lily's wand took a bit longer to find. Mr. Ollivander informed them it was good for charms, 91/4 in, unicorn hair, willow. They were well outside the time limit by the time they got back to the Leaky Cauldron, but found that they were safe. Mr. Fortuna was engrossed in speaking to a pretty young woman, a blonde with big brown eyes, bloodshot from alcohol. Celeste's father waved them away, telling them to go find something else to buy. Of course they had no objections.  
  
"We're back!" Celeste said to the boys. They were standing in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies, looking at the new Cleansweep 7.  
  
"Damn! First years can't have brooms! No fair! Look at the new Cleansweep 7, aerodynamically designed with a slimmer handle to fly faster by resisting the wind. It calls to me, but I cannot answer!" James wailed. Obviously he was a big Quidditch freak like Celeste.  
  
"Don't worry, Jamsie, when we can play on the Quidditch team, we can all be on it, and we'll see if we can't root up two other good players, okay?" Celeste patted his shoulder and spoke to him in a baby voice.  
  
"Okay… wait. You called me Jamsie, woman. Now you must pay."  
  
"Whatever, Jamsie. Come on, we can't buy anything here, and I still need a pet. To the Magical Menagerie."  
  
They entered the stuffy, noisy shop filled with cages. There were all sorts of animals, from 'aquatic rabbits' to 'zebra-striped rats'. Celeste found the owl section and began browsing the cages. She stopped when she reaches a cage labeled 'Palau Owl'. "It's perfect," she crooned.  
  
Remus, ever practical, checked the price. "20 galleons! Celeste, that's one expensive owl!"  
  
"The most expensive we stock!" the pimply desk clerk added.  
  
"That's quite enough!" Celeste snapped at her. "I don't care anyhow. She's mine!" And with that she walked up to the counter and paid for the owl.  
  
"What are you going to name her?" Lily asked.  
  
"Libentina!" Celeste announced jubilantly. Remus went white at this proclamation.  
  
Lily picked out a small gray kitten, which she promptly named Ashes.  
  
"Happy thought," Sirius said with a grimace. "For some reason I keep thinking of a corpse cremator."  
  
"Proper little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Lily said, wrinkling up her nose.  
  
Sirius wasn't paying attention to her anymore. "Damn! There's Potter's dad!"  
  
"Language, Black, language," Celeste told him. Sirius fumed but didn't do anything. It was obvious that he didn't want to get on the wrong side of Celeste.  
  
" 'Lo there, James," Mr. Potter said.  
  
" 'Lo dad," James replied sullenly.  
  
"Well, you two, we'd better be going. I told your parents I'd have you back by 2o'clock," Mr. Potter looked around. "Where's all your stuff?"  
  
"Leaky Cauldron," chorused James, Sirius, and Remus, who was still white from Celeste's announcement.  
  
"Okay, then… good day, ladies. We'll be off!"  
  
Celeste and Lily gave each other strange looks. They had never met someone who acted courtly like that, so naturally it was funny. They held in their giggles and bid the boys goodbye.  
  
The boys disappeared into the crowd and Celeste gave a lovesick sigh next to Lily. Lily promptly turned to her and shook her. "WHICH ONE IS IT?" Lily punctuated each syllable with a shake.  
  
"Hey, you two break it up!" A new girl stepped in between them. She had sleek strawberry-brunette hair that was pulled back in a very messy bun.  
  
"Let them be," said the girl flanking the strawberry-brunette. The other girl had a Caribbean look about her, from the darkly tanned skin to the wavy black hair to the almond shaped brown eyes.  
  
The Caribbean girl introduced herself as Mia and the other girl as Luna. She explained that she was here from Cuba to study witchcraft at Hogwarts. Luna was from America to attend Hogwarts as well. "We're lost," she said. "Could you show us where to get supplies?"  
  
"Well… there's Ollivander's. You can buy wands there. And right beside it is Madam Malkin's, where you get your uniform. You can get potion ingredients at the Apothecary, as well as your cauldron and scales and stuff. Get your telescope at the Astronomy Station. They have all the books at Flourish and Blotts. And if you want a pet, go to the Owl Emporium or the Magical Menagerie," Celeste rattled off.  
  
Luna looked quite bewildered. "Thank you, and we'll see you at Hogwarts!" Mia said cheerily. Luna waved absentmindedly.  
  
As soon as Mia and Luna disappeared into the crowd, Lily went back to shaking Celeste until she finally told her secret.  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"Dad, wait! How do we get on the platform?" Celeste called at her father's retreating back.  
  
He turned around and called, "Run into the wall!"  
  
"Ohh, thanks a lot, dad," Celeste muttered sarcastically. She looked rather peeved at her father's unrevealing clue. "Oh well, we've nothing better to do, so we might as well run into the wall!" Celeste said loudly, earning herself a few strange looks from Muggles. She paid them no attention but took a firm grip on her cart and started toward the wall at a slow run. As Lily watched, she vanished through the wall. Lily took this as a good sign and started toward the barrier as well. She closed her eyes, for nothing could prepare her for running headlong into a wall, no matter what she had seen. Lily mustered up her courage for the collision. It never came. She stood on a train platform, staring through smoke at a giant red engine. A sigh above her read 'Platform 93/4 '.  
  
"Hey, Lily, over here!" Celeste called to her. Celeste was joined by James, Sirius, and Remus. James and Sirius were loading her trunk and owl cage onto the train.  
  
Lily's cat, Ashes, was in a small wicker cat basket. He had turned out to not be as sweet as he first looked and had taken to being quite moody and defensive. Lily turned her cart and pushed it over to them. Her trunk was unloaded by James and Sirius and hauled up into the train. James helped Lily up into the compartment and Sirius helped Celeste up. James turned to wave at his parents. Lily noticed tears in his mother's eyes.  
  
"What are your parent's names, James?" Lily asked softly.  
  
"Linda and Carl," James answered.  
  
"Why do you want to know, Mudblood?" Malfoy's voice came from behind them. "Want to know the names of your future parents-in-law?" This time Lucius was flanked not only by the hulking boys but a greasy looking kid as well.  
  
"Malfoy. Snape. Birds of a feather flock together." James said in a low murmur.  
  
"Apparently not so in your case, Potter," Snape the greasy kid sneered. Snape's cold black eyes looked Lily up and down. "I never thought you would stoop so low as to befriend unworthy Muggles."  
  
"She is more worthy than you ever will be, Snape. She is not tainted Slytherin scum like you. She is smart and brave and nice and sincere. Those are all characteristics that no Slytherin would ever have. And those characteristics make up worthiness."  
  
"How do you know she's like that? You just met her today."  
  
"I know her well enough to know that she is a hell of a lot better than any of you Slytherin bastards."  
  
Snape seemed lost for words. He stood there opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. Malfoy sighed, rolled his eyes, grabbed Snape by the back of his collar, and marched from the compartment.  
  
James looked after his retreating back with a strange air of superiority.  
  
"James, that was the nicest compliment I have ever had," Lily said, turning to James.  
  
James blushed. This was a genuine blush, not an act of his. He felt great pride at telling off Malfoy and Snape. And he also felt that his describing of Lily earlier wasn't made up; it was true.  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
"So that's Hogwarts," Lily said in a hushed voice. She was sitting in a boat on the lake at Hogwarts. Celeste, Luna, and Mia also occupied the boat. The boat next to them contained James, Sirius, Remus, and another boy named Peter.  
  
Everyone else seemed to be sharing her awe. The castle was strikingly beautiful, a surprising fact, as it was hundreds of years old and made of rough stone. Bright lights glowed cheerily from inside.  
  
"Tek a good lon' look. This'll be yer 'ome aw'y from 'ome fer th' nex' seven years," Rubeus Hagrid said. He was the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and had fetched them from the Hogwarts Express. Rubeus took up a whole boat himself he was so big. "All righ', keep goin' er we'll miss th' Sortin' Ceremony," he chuckled at his own joke, and then explained that the Sorting Ceremony couldn't take place without the 'firs' years'.  
  
The boats carried the first years and Hagrid through a wide tunnel in the cliff face hidden by ivy. The boats finally reached an underground harbor of sorts after traveling in a dark underground tunnel forever, or so it seemed. Hagrid pulled himself from his boats and knocked upon the door of Hogwarts.  
  
The door was opened instantaneously by a tall woman with black hair wearing maroon robes. Celeste thought, Hey, I'll have some fun with this one. The woman looked at Celeste sternly as though she could read minds. This prospect sent a shiver up Celeste's spine.  
  
"I'll take them from here, Hagrid," the woman said.  
  
"They're all yours, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid respectfully answered.  
  
Professor McGonagall led them to a small room. They crowded inside. Professor McGonagall spoke.  
  
*"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend your free time in your House common room."  
  
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you become a credit to whichever House becomes yours."  
  
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."  
  
"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." *  
  
And with that she was gone.  
  
  
  
* Quoted from pages 142 & 143 in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  
  
I introduce Peter in this chapter. Damn. I wish the story could be written without him. Unfortunately, it can't. I don't own any places or characters in this fanfic except Celeste, Mia, and Luna. And Mr. Fortuna. I also own the plot and the title. My lawyer is itching to sue someone and I certainly could use some money to get Shakira's CD…so just try something, I dare you! 


	4. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, & Sly...

Chapter 3  
  
1.1 Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, & Slytherin  
  
  
  
"Celeste, what do we have to do to be Sorted?" Lily asked.  
  
"Try on some kooky old hat with brains out of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin in it."  
  
Lily crinkled up her nose. "They were real people?"  
  
"Yeah. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They founded Hogwarts and its Houses."  
  
They friends stood there in silence until McGonagall came back. She led them down the passageway to the Great Hall. All the older students were seated on benches at four long tables. The teachers sat up front at another table. Lily gave an involuntary shiver when she was a mean looking witch sitting there. The teacher had mangled gray hair that looked as though it had never seen a comb and sunken light blue eyes that looked something like chips of ice. Lily stumbled against James, who whispered to her, "Professor Hartmann, the Potions professor and Slytherin Head of House."  
  
Professor McGonagall took out a four-legged stool and set upon it a very old, battered pointed wizard hat. Everyone seemed to be staring at the hat. Suddenly it twitched and a rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth. The hat began to sing.  
  
*"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
  
But don't judge on what you see.  
  
I'll eat myself if you can find,  
  
A smarter hat than me.  
  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,  
  
And I can cap them all.  
  
There's nothing hidden in your head,  
  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
  
So try me on and I will tell you,  
  
Where you ought to be.  
  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
  
Where they are just and loyal,  
  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
  
And unafraid of toil;  
  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
  
If you've a ready mind,  
  
Where those of wit and learning,  
  
Will always find their kind;  
  
Or perhaps in Slytherin,  
  
You'll make your real friends,  
  
Those cunning folk use any means  
  
To achieve their ends.  
  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
  
And don't get in a flap!  
  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!*  
  
All, students, teachers, and ghosts (for there were many ghosts at Hogwarts), burst into applause for the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall stood up with a long sheet of parchment.  
  
*"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,"* she called. "Adams, Bryan!"  
  
A boy walked up to the stool, placed the Sorting Hat on his head and sat. After a moment, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Black, Sirius!" Sirius grinned at us cheekily as he walked up to the stool.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers.  
  
"Blaker, Erica!"  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Brooks, Garth!"  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Carey, Jim!"  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Cantrell, Blu!"  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Casteel, Zara!"  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
"Crabbe, Vincent!"  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
"Dewey, Kevin!"  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"Evans, Lily!" Lily walked shakily up to the stool and shoved that hat onto her head.  
  
"Let me see, oh, yes, difficult, very difficult.," Lily heard in her ear. "Not afraid of working, smart too. Don't consider rules much, do you? Ha, like old Salazar. You would do well in any House, but you'd be best in GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
The Gryffindor table clapped again. Sirius almost knocked her out, smacking her on the back. McGonagall continued with the sorting. "Fairchild, Samantha…"  
  
Then came Celeste. The Sorting Hat didn't take long with her. It shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as the hat touched her head. Lily ran up and hugged her, enormously happy that her best friend joined her in the best house. Sirius looked as though he wanted to too, but wisely decided against it.  
  
"Furtado, Nelly… Gianakopoulos, Artie… Goyle, Gregory… Hall,  
  
Sarah… Keys, Alicia…Kinsley, Andrew…" Then it was Remus's turn.  
  
The Sorting Hat took a long time with him. He sat there muttering under his breath, "Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat granted him that wish and he strode over to join Sirius, Lily, and Celeste.  
  
"Malfoy, Lucius… Murray, Patrick… Nepulis, Mia," Mia joined the group "Oelker, Alex… Oelker, Travis… Perry, Matthew…" Pettigrew, Peter also became a Gryffindor. "Potter, James." Like with Celeste, the Sorting Hat chose James for Gryffindor almost automatically.  
  
"Quinton, Travis… Randall, Megan… Siegenthaler, Tyler… Shank, Esther… Starbuck, Luna," Luna joined the Gryffindors. "Stengle, Sarah… Techinsky, Josef…Thompson, Alex…Thomason, Desiree… Veldt, Hadassah… Weber, Grace…Weber, Mark… Wirick, Blake… Wirick, Daniel… Yoder, Bethany… Yoder, Lane… Zirrus, Narcissa."  
  
That ended the Sorting ceremony. All told, there were more Gryffindors than anyone, being 17. What's new. Nine Slytherins, seven Ravenclaws, and nine Hufflepuffs.  
  
Then the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, stood up. "I will not bore you with one of my long speeches. I know you're hungry, so I'll make it short. First, I wish to welcome our first years to Hogwarts. Second, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Fostra." A young witch next to Dumbledore stood up. She received rather rowdy applause, for she was very pretty. Beside Lily, Celeste gasped.  
  
"What's wrong?" Lily asked her.  
  
"She's a Scotch dryad, like my mother!"  
  
"A Scotch dryad?" Lily asked.  
  
"I'll tell you later," Celeste mouthed. Dumbledore had begun to speak again.  
  
"I'm sure we're all very pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts. Now, I have only to words: Let's eat!"  
  
With those two words, a feast appeared on the empty gold platters. Lily could hardly believe her eyes. The platters held everything from caviar to tortellini. Luna was seated next to Lily. When Lily eagerly piled steak-and-kidney pie onto her plate, Luna recoiled in horror. "What is that stuff and why are you eating it?" she gasped.  
  
"Steak-and-kidney pie. Haven't you ever heard of it before?"  
  
Luna shook her head in silent repulsion. She was turning green.  
  
Lily shrugged and turned to pile roast beef on her plate. Americans.  
  
Finally, everyone was stuffed (Celeste ate more than even Sirius did) and the food cleared away. It was replaced by desserts. Celeste helped herself to about seven chocolate éclairs and chocolate mousse.  
  
"Mmmm, mmm! I didn't know they'd have chocolate mousse! We have that all the time at home!" she said. "And caviar!" Celeste had been the only one in the room to eat the caviar.  
  
The desserts eventually cleared away too. Celeste had eaten almost all the éclairs and some ice cream bar cake. Professor Dumbledore rose to speak again.  
  
*"Ahem- a few more words now that we're all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."  
  
"First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all pupils. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the new caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."  
  
"Quidditch trials will be held in the third week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact Madam Hooch."  
  
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"* Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out of the tip, twisting itself into words high above the tables.  
  
"Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!" Dumbledore called.  
  
*"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
  
Teach us something please,  
  
Whether we be old and bald  
  
Or young with scabby knees,  
  
Our heads could do with filling  
  
With some interesting stuff,  
  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
  
And learn until our brains all rot."*  
  
James, Sirius, and Celeste waited until everyone else had finished singing for them to start. Celeste sang it in bass, Sirius sang it in soprano, and James sang alto. The result was hilarious. Every once in a while Celeste's voice would crack because she was an alto, as did Sirius's because he was a baritone. They became a hit with the school from that last cracked note of the song. The entire school, including some of the professors, burst out in wild applause. As the group of friends followed a Gryffindor prefect out of Great Hall, dreamy looks followed James and Sirius while catcalls trailed Celeste. These actions continued throughout their school life.  
  
Professor Fostra seemed to have taken great interest in Celeste and tried to follow her out of Great Hall. Celeste tried vigorously to lose her in the crowd, dragging the whole of Gryffindor house with her. The poor bemused prefect, Arthur Weasley, was unable to do anything with her. The Gryffindors bumbled through the halls, finally coming to a halt in front of a fat woman dressed in pink.  
  
"Now listen everybody," Arthur called. "First years, we have to say a password to get into our common room. It's behind this picture. The password is 'firedance' for now. It might change later." The painting had opened creakily as Arthur said 'firedance'. Now a round hole in the wall was revealed. Everyone climbed in. Inside was a circular, snug room filled with squashy armchairs. Arthur directed the boys up one staircase and the girls up another. Lily couldn't help thinking as she fell into deep slumber, "Disney World isn't the happiest place on earth. Hogwarts is."  
  
* From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  
  
Disclaimer: I own Celeste, Professors Fostra and Hartmann, Mia, and Luna and Mr. Fortuna. I also own the plot and the title.  
  
A/N: I have no idea whether Disney World was in existence in Lily and James' time but it fit so I put it there. Yes, I know, Arthur Weasley probably wasn't in school while Lily and James were. I just had a strange impulse to add him in. Molly will be coming up soon. Does anyone have a good last name for her? It has to be perfect. Also, I used the Sorting Hat song from the first HP book because I had no idea how to write a new one and I am in no mood to figure it out. Yeah, this is a stupid cliffie, I know. Celeste never told Lily what a Scotch dryad was. Next chapter. I used names of actors and singers and such for the people being Sorted, and also people I know. Anybody know who I am? Yes, I used my name too. And I used the phone book. A good source for names, authors and authoresses everywhere! I'll shut up and get cracking on that next chapter and the HP songfic I'm writing. And if you like this story, do me a favor and go to http://www.wgtz93.com click on Top 8 @ 8 and vote for Shakira's 'Underneath Your Clothes'. It is the best song in the word but it hasn't been on the countdown for three days!!!! P.S. This website is for a local pop radio station and as far as I know contains no unsuitable material, so don't sue me for telling you to go to it! Thanks for the reviews and please, GIVE ME MORE!!!!! Mmwwwaaaaahhhaaaahhhaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	5. Celeste's Secrets

Lily woke in the morning feeling very refreshed. She glanced at the clock. 6:30! That was the earliest she'd ever been up!  
  
Celeste wasn't in her four-poster bed. She was sitting in front of her trunk, her things spread out around her.  
  
"Celeste, what in the world are you doing?"  
  
"Looking," she replied.  
  
"Obviously. What are you looking at?"  
  
"My stuff. I just can't get over the fact that I'm in Gryffindor. My dad was in Hufflepuff, you know, and my mom was in Ravenclaw. I'm the first one in my entire family to be a Gryffindor. I don't know what my dad will say when I owl him and tell him what happened."  
  
"You said Gryffindor was the best House. He'll be happy, won't he?"  
  
Celeste shook her head mournfully. "My dad has this thing about tradition. Anything done for the first time is dissed big time by him. This'll make him so mad. He might even disown me. Where'll I go if he does? What'll I do? I don't have any money. I have nothing but what's in my trunk. That's why I was looking through it. To see what I've got. Not much. I have Libentina, my six robes, my schoolbooks, my hats, the gloves, the cloaks, my cauldron, and all the other school things. My broom's back home. I couldn't even use my wand if I had to, without getting a warning from the Improper Use of Magic department of the Ministry. I don't know any magic yet anyway."  
  
"Celeste, you can't run away! Look, where would you go?"  
  
"Wherever I have to."  
  
"Ohh, why do you have to be so stubborn? Who says he'll disown you anyway? You're his kid! He won't want to get rid of you!"  
  
"If I am his kid," Celeste muttered sulkily as she stalked away.  
  
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?  
  
Classes went great for the first few days. Celeste found she was exceptionally good at Defense Against the Dark Arts and Astronomy. Lily was good at charms, and James was good at Transfiguration, as was Sirius. Remus was good at everything, and Peter, who had somewhat befriended the boys, was good at nothing. Celeste has said to this day, "Peter was good at nothing and for nothing. I knew it the day I met him." Knowing the Harry Potter series as you do, you can tell that this is very true.  
  
Friday came. The eight friends (Lily, Celeste, Mia, Luna, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter) were particularly eager to get through lessons today for they had Friday afternoons off.  
  
"Hey, what do we have this morning?" Celeste yawned. She was last down to the common room as usual.  
  
"Celeste, Celeste, what must we do to get you to memorize our schedule?" Remus tutted.  
  
"Why should I if I could just ask you?"  
  
"Point taken, Your Majesty. We have Double Potions with the Slytherins this morning." Remus's pronouncement brought groans to all the first-year Gryffindors. No one liked the Slytherins or the Potions professor.  
  
Celeste had an wicked grin on her face. "Celeste! Why are you smiling?" Lily exclaimed.  
  
"I'm gonna have fun with this one. Even more fun than I had with Fostra and McGonagall." Lily rolled her eyes. Celeste had managed to prove everything that Professor Fostra had said wrong and earned herself three detentions for being obnoxious during Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall had almost been to the point of a nervous breakdown and had issued Celeste her detentions when Celeste had leisurely mentioned that McGonagall should consider visiting St. Mungo's.  
  
"Just don't get us in any trouble, okay?" Luna said. Getting in trouble petrified her.  
  
"Don't worry, teacher's pet, I won't blemish your perfect record. Wouldn't dream of it!" Celeste had the evil grin on her face again. Lily had the idea that, rather than preventing Celeste from doing something drastic and getting her in trouble, Luna had given Celeste an idea. When, Celeste got ideas, it wasn't good.  
  
Lily found herself more and more attracted to James. He was so witty and funny and cute, but he wasn't conceited like Sirius. Sirius acted as though he was king of the world sometimes. Lily respected Celeste though, and didn't put him down. He was awfully attractive, anyway.  
  
Yes, Celeste chose Sirius, and Lily was pretty sure Sirius had chosen Celeste, though he looked rather interested in Mia. All the guys were. Mia's looks were simply tantalizing. She had the perfect body, being tall and thin, with a rapidly maturing chest and slender hips and rear. For some reason boys liked little butts. She sometimes wore her long, dark brown hair in a bun or two braids (think Nelly Furtado's braids in her video for "Turn Off the Light". I think that's when she's wearing braids) or down. What Lily liked about her though, was how nice she was. She wasn't conceited about her looks and was nice and gentle and good. Everyone liked her, but she liked Remus.  
  
Shy, quiet, smart Remus. Everyone liked to talk to him because he never interrupted you and gave you good advice. You just felt like you could trust him. Lily confided in him about her crush on James that was bordering on obsession and he told her not to worry because everything would turn out perfectly fine. Celeste also talked to him for she seemed so much more confidant about Sirius. Anyway, Remus was whom Mia liked and she told him this. He was flattered, of course, but apparently didn't think himself worthy as he refused to date her. She was saddened, but his action made her respect him even more. Sirius had said, 'Well, if it isn't shy little Remus who's scraping in the ladies', whereupon Celeste had belted him over the head with her bag full of books.  
  
Zooming back into the present, the eight friends descended the many staircases to Great Hall for breakfast. Luna hadn't yet gotten over steak- and-kidney pie so the girls were careful not to eat it in front of her. James and Sirius, however, ate nothing but steak-and-kidney pie just to gross her out, despite the fact they themselves didn't care for it much. It worked and Luna had had to go to the hospital wing twice in the last week.  
  
This morning, however, breakfast passed without incident. The friends descended several staircases to the dungeons, where the Potions classroom was. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Narcissa Zirrus followed them, whispering excitedly.  
  
"They look like they're up to something," Celeste remarked upon spotting them. "I'm going to find out what it is."  
  
She walked over to them. "Wazzup, guys?"  
  
"Someone's feeling cordial today. Finally give up on those pathetic things you call friends?" Narcissa asked cuttingly.  
  
Celeste gritted her teeth. It was obvious that she found it hard to continue acting polite. "Oh, no," she said, somewhat sarcastically. "I was wondering why you were looking so proud of yourselves. What are you hiding?" Celeste asked, drawing her wand from her sleeve and pointing it at Narcissa's throat. "Speak up if Princess Narcissa here wants to live. My grandpa's an Auror for the Ministry and he taught me some hexes that'll make your hair stand on end for the rest of your lives. Literally."  
  
Narcissa and Malfoy gulped and gave involuntary shudders. It was obvious she knew what she was talking about. Crabbe and Goyle clearly didn't pick up a word Celeste said, so they didn't move.  
  
"Okay, whatever," Narcissa said. "We'll talk." (Doesn't she remind you of Helga in Atlantis: The Lost Empire?)  
  
"From a very valuable resource, which will remain unnamed, we have discovered that you feel your father isn't really your father. We decided to be nice and save you researching it and did the dirty work for you." Celeste snorted as Narcissa said 'nice'. "Anyway, we have some information that you would be most interested in. It's yours -if you pay."  
  
"Your lives are more payment than you deserve. I give them to you now. Consider them your payment. Give me this 'interesting' piece of information before my tongue slips and I mutter some dire incantation. Purely on accident, of course."  
  
Quite a crowd had turned up to watch. Like almost every Muggle kid, Hogwarts students liked a good fight. This was a three for one deal. See, you get some juicy gossip, a little violence, and some drama rolled into one. You don't even have to use the remote.  
  
Narcissa flicked her hair back as an indication to Malfoy that she had done her part and it was time for Malfoy to do his. The puny blonde Slytherin gulped visibly. "Okay. Here goes. My father went to school with your father and mother. We asked him how close they had been during school. He said that they had been enemies. Rivals, you could say. They both competed to see which one got the better grades. Your father never had a girlfriend. Your mother dated the most popular guy in school, Julius Arilio." Celeste gasped. Her mother's maiden name was Arilio. "They were inseparable. Julius and Julia. When he died in a tragic accident right after their gradation, your mother changed her lat name to Arilio. She went from a young lady with great potential, a possible Auror, to a girl wasted with alcohol, going from one bar to the next."  
  
"Finally, she turned her life around. 19-year-old Julia had met the man who she thought was The One. He was twenty, a Scotch wizard noted for his cheery blue eyes and sandy brown hair. He saw something in her, but wasn't sure what it was. Behind her bloodshot eyes and uncombed hair he saw brilliance."  
  
"Julia was so drunk she had no idea what was going one. She had collapsed at the bar. No one had attempted to help her. Sean, for that was the Irish wizard's name, noticed her. He tried to awaken her, but her body was far beyond being able to respond. She had consumed so much alcohol that her senses were in a deep stupor. The bartender told him her name and how she had come to the bar nearly every night for the past three months. Sean learned of how Julia must live alone because no one ever came looking for her. Closing time came. The bartender came out from behind the bar to carry Julia to her car, where she would sleep off the alcohol as she did every night. Sean carried her instead."  
  
"Sean came back for her in the morning. Julia had finally awakened and was hanging out her car door, barfing her guts out. Apparently she was fighting one hell of a hangover. Sean came up after she pulled her head back into the car and introduced himself. She still seemed kind of out of it and fainted on him. Sean got a little drastic now and drove her back to his apartment."  
  
"Julia got a little mad at him for that, although she would've slept for two days straight in her car. She learned to trust him when he insisted on paying for an alcohol rehabilitation program for her."  
  
"They became very close over the course of a year. Finally Sean asked Julia out on a date and she couldn't refuse."  
  
"Three months later the two were happily engaged. Just before the wedding, Sean was called to war. World War II."  
  
"Supposedly he was killed, or reported 'missing in battle' while on mission in France. Julia was heartbroken. By the time she was 22 she had lost two potential husbands, for she and Julius had been engaged when he died. Julia nearly lapsed back to her old drinking habit. But she must've decided that wasn't what Sean would've wanted for her. So she got a job as a secretary at a big law firm where Herman Fortuna was a lawyer. At that time he worked in the Muggle world. Eventually Julia was promoted to be his secretary."  
  
"Julia, of course, wasn't happy about this arrangement. The bigwigs of the firm wouldn't listen to her plea for promotion, or even of demotion. Herman, however, was extremely happy to have his old rival back. He had always held a certain respect for her, but had never asked her out on a date for she was always with Julius. He'd lost track of Julia after graduation at Hogwarts, but had seen Julius's obituary in an Edinburgh newspaper."  
  
"Well, eventually the urge became to much to resist and he asked Julia out on a date. She agreed, surprising Herman greatly. Julia was so beautiful that she looked as though she should date someone outgoing and handsome. Herman was fat, with already graying hair, though he was only twenty-two. He spoke of nothing other than his job and golf, exceedingly boring topics for one of Julia's spirit."  
  
"Julia lost most of that spirit over the next few months. Thinking of Sean helped her regain some sense of self, put it was painful to think of where she could be now, had he not gone to war. A couple of kids, a little house of their own with a swing hanging from an apple tree. Cats in the barn, some dogs under the porch. It was paradise compared with her life now. A tiny, lonely apartment, a low-paying job with horrible hours, and worst of all, Herman."  
  
"Julia had no will to live anymore. She didn't care what happened to her. When Herman proposed to her, she said she didn't care, so they might as well get married. Nothing mattered any longer."  
  
"Herman and Julia were married at a small country Protestant church in June 1942. It was a very quiet ceremony. Only my mother, Agnes, and my father, who were newly wedded, were invited. Your mother and mine were best friends back then. That's how my father knows all this."  
  
"Julia and Herman were much less than happily married. They fought and argued and sometimes didn't even talk to each other. The rivals were back. Julia never put the clothes away right. Herman spent all of his paycheck on alcohol."  
  
"Eventually they agreed on a truce. They lived with this truce for ten years, separate beds, but happy enough."  
  
"Then one day a postcard came. As Julia read it, her eyes grew big. Herman watched with keen interest. The postcard was from someone named Sean Wood. Here it is." Malfoy handed Celeste an old postcard.  
  
Dearest Julia,  
  
I have gotten your address from Agnes Malfoy, your old friend. She said there were changes, but she'd let you tell me.  
  
Yes, I survived my mission in France. Two other men and I were wounded, left behind by our comrades. The militia of a tiny French town called Chardonnay found us and brought us back to the town. We were forced to wed among their citizens if we wished for them to help us. I couldn't do anything, honey, or I would've. I was wounded badly and would've died without the help of the citizens of Chardonnay.  
  
My wife, Antoinette, died a month ago. I was finally let free from Chardonnay. See, I couldn't even leave the town before that. The villagers weren't mean; in fact they were very generous, and I could've belonged there if I didn't miss you so much.  
  
I have spent the past three weeks searching for you. Agnes told me you were now living in Blackpool. I never thought you'd leave old London. I've now located your residence and will be there around 4 pm on Monday June 1st. With everlasting love,  
  
Sean  
  
Celeste finished reading it. "And?"  
  
"That day was May 31st. Julia figured she'd better get Herman out of the house tomorrow. She didn't want Sean to know she had gone and married without hope that he'd come back."  
  
"She got Herman out of the house to watch a Quidditch match and-"  
  
"And Sean Wood is my real father. I get it now. Okay, if you know everything, is my mom dead like Herman says or did she run away with Sean?" Celeste shouted agitatedly.  
  
"Uh, she ran away with Sean. She wanted to take you, but they were going to go to America and you of course couldn't Apparate. You were only six weeks old when they left. She left Herman a note telling him everything that had happened. He never really got used to the fact that his wife left him and his child wasn't his. That's why he's always so distant."  
  
"Where does my mom live? Is she still with Sean? Do I have any little siblings?"  
  
"Both of your parents live in Edinburgh. They don't have any other children."  
  
"Edinburgh! That's so close! I thought you said they went to America! Why'd they come back?"  
  
"To say the least, they didn't like America."  
  
"How do you know all of this?"  
  
"My mother and yours have been close correspondents since school."  
  
"Why'd you tell me everything? It's like your being nice or something."  
  
"Well, we wanted to be the ones to break the news to you that you were a bastard child," Narcissa sneered. Narcissa, and Malfoy laughed so uproariously it was almost amusing. (Think Dr. Evil's laugh in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) After the laugh, which carried on for a ridiculously long amount of time, the two stalked off to Potions, Crabbe and Goyle trailing after them.  
  
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Celeste barely made it through Potions. All thoughts of mockery or trickery during class left her. She sat in a deep stupor, returning to the land of the living every so often to jot down a note or two.  
  
At lunch she was a bit more social. The entire Great Hall was a bit more quiet that usual. Everyone felt Celeste's pain. She had become quite popular since the beginning of the year. Only the Slytherins were as loud and boisterous as usual, as could be expected.  
  
Friday afternoons the students had off so Celeste and Lily went for a walk around the lake. They watched Hagrid struggling to plant a rather large tree that seemed to be struggling against the ropes that were restraining it. Every once in awhile Hagrid would get belted upside the head by a stray branch.  
  
"Why in the world would Hagrid want to plant a tree that hit you if you too close?" Lily asked Celeste.  
  
"I'll be blasted if I know. Hagrid doesn't have the same sense of danger as most people." Celeste watched Hagrid's actions with keen interest. Something clicked in Lily's mind.  
  
"Celeste, you never told me what a Scotch dryad was," she said.  
  
"I didn't, did I? Well, dryads are female, you know. Mythical creatures to Muggles. In the wizarding world they're real, of course, like the dragons and unicorns. Dryads live only in Scotland, can't go over the boarder or leave Scotland at all. Scots, naturally, are the only men with whom the dryads can have sex and reproduce with. Well, my mother's father was a Scotch wizard, and my grandmother was a dryad. The offspring of the dryad and Scotsman has the title of a Scotch dryad, so that's what my mom was. That's what I am too, now that I found out my father is Scottish."  
  
"And what does this have to do with Professor Fostra?"  
  
"She's a Scotch dryad too. You can tell if you're one yourself or you're around them a lot. I don't have very many of the of them since I'm a second generation Scotch dryad, but in my eyes you can tell." Celeste pointed at her eye. "They're not the right color, green, but they're the exact right shape and they're so damn honest! They don't hide anything! I swear Sirius can tell I like him just when I look at him!"  
  
Lily could see what she meant about her eyes. "I don't think he knows. He hasn't mentioned it, and he's the worst about keeping quiet about stuff."  
  
"Yeah," Celeste said thoughtfully. "But I almost wish he did know."  
  
  
  
Okay, 4th chapter done. The main plot will be coming up soon, as will the groups first brush with Lord Voldemort. Please, give me reviews. I know I've been saying that I had a HP songfic coming up, but it's too long for the song, so it's just gonna be a short story. I have a laptop now, so hopefully I'll be popping chapters and stories out faster. Okay, love ya, bye bye now! 


	6. Sirius Gets Dumped & Mia Gets Pettigrew

Sirius was feeling very sure of himself. And cocky too. Nothing was going to go wrong today. EVERYTHING was going to go right. He was going to do this. Nothing was going to stop him.  
  
Halloween was coming up. There was a costume ball for Halloween this year. He was going to ask Mia to go with him. And he was going to ask her today. James was asking Lily today. He would ask Mia.  
  
Ohh, God. She was looking so damn good today. It was like she was toying with him, begging him to ask her out. Her body looked so sexy in her tight, revealing robes. This is how they dress in Cuba he thought.  
  
Sirius was so busy dreaming up his and Mia's honeymoon in Cuba that he didn't realize he was running into Remus until he heard someone squeal as he stepped on them.  
  
"Oh. Remus. Sorry, man," Sirius helped Remus up. "Why in such a hurry?"  
  
"Oh, uh. I 'm going to go ask Celeste to the Halloween ball," Remus muttered.  
  
Celeste. There was another fine-looking specimen of a girl. He'd have to ask her out sometime. "Good man, Remus. Let me know how it goes."  
  
Sirius seemed to float through all of his classes. As he thought back later it seemed as though a couple girls asked him to the ball, but none of them were Mia, so he ignored them.  
  
Mia finally seemed to be alone after dinner. Sirius ambushed her.  
  
"Hey. Mia. You going to the Halloween ball with anyone?"  
  
"Why do you want to know?" Mia asked teasingly. Seductively.  
  
"Well, I was thinking you might be lonely that night, so I might keep you company. How about it?"  
  
"Sorry, but I can't. I'm already going with someone."  
  
Sirius's jaw dropped. He definitely had not expected that response. How could anyone be better than him, so much better than him that she was not willing to break up with them? Impossible!  
  
"Did I hear you right? Who are you going with?"  
  
"Yeah, Sirius, you heard right. You aren't exactly the only boy in the school that anyone would go out with!"  
  
"So who's my competition?"  
  
"You have lots of competition, Sirius. Not every girl wants a conceited, joking boy who never takes anyone serious. Especially me. I want a guy who understands me, not who says, 'Well, she beautiful so I'll just work my charm on her and she's mine'! You do that, so you aren't my type."  
  
"WHO IS YOUR TYPE, BITCH?" Sirius bellowed. Okay, everything WASN'T going his way today.  
  
"If you must know, Peter Pettigrew," Mia said airily, walking away.  
  
"If you are going out with Peter Pettigrew, you most certainly aren't someone I want to go out with!" Sirius called after her retreating back. "Bitch!"  
  
"You're the one who asked, bastard," Mia shot back.  
  
Sirius stood there, his face all red, for quite a while. Until James came along.  
  
"Hey, Sirius! Lily said yes! I can't believe it! Whoa. What happened to you? Mia say no?"  
  
"She's going with Peter Pettigrew," Sirius gritted simply. He then laughed softly, mirthlessly. "That bitch is going with Pettigrew."  
  
"Hey, man, if she's going with Pettigrew, forget about her! Ask Celeste or something."  
  
"Lupin is."  
  
"Well, she didn't say yes cause I haven't heard anything about it."  
  
"I'm not asking her out again. She tore me up at the beginning of the year when I did."  
  
"Suit yourself. Celeste is deep. Lily told me. And she's single. She'd hardly met you when you asked her out. You couldn't blame her for saying no. You asked Mia!"  
  
"And who's she going with? Damn Pettigrew! Celeste is probably going with Snape!"  
  
"The day Fortuna goes to a ball with Snape is the day we all die. She's a Gryffindor at heart. She told off a Hufflepuff that asked her to the ball. Damn, Sirius, you got nothin' to lose. Just do it! I'd ask her out if Lily wasn't here!"  
  
"Good for you. She's not going to go out with me. I ain't even gonna ask her."  
  
"You're throwing away the perfect girl, Sirius."  
  
"If she's so perfect, you go ask her out."  
  
James sighed and walked back to the Gryffindor common room, leaving Sirius sitting against the wall with tears streaming his cheeks.  
  
~ * ^ * ~ * ^ * ~ * ^ * ~  
  
"Ask him out yourself, Celeste," Lily said.  
  
1 "I can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because."  
  
Mia walked into the common room at that moment, very red in the face. She sat down with Lily and Celeste.  
  
"Hey Mia. What happened?" Lily asked sympathetically.  
  
"That BASTARD Sirius asked me out, then got all pissed off when I told him I was going out with Peter. I swear. He doesn't even care about what I think. To hell with him, I say."  
  
"Mia, if you don't mind me saying, you're probably the only girl in the school who'd rather go out with Pettigrew than Black," Celeste said harshly.  
  
"Celeste, if you don't mind me saying, you're probably the only girl in the school who isn't going out with anyone!"  
  
"Well, Mia, at least I'm not going out with a guy I don't even like!"  
  
Remus turned beet red in the corner where he was quietly doing Potions homework. James was right. Celeste had said no.  
  
"I could've gone to the Halloween Ball with Remus Lupin. He asked me earlier today." Celeste smacked her head, aware she'd said something wrong. "Not that I don't like Remus. I DO like him, just not like that. You know what I mean."  
  
The room went quiet. Very quiet.  
  
Celeste looked very smug and turned back to Mia. "So it seems I'm better than you. The guy you asked out came running to me after he refused you."  
  
"That doesn't mean that you're better than me," Mia shot back. "I could have just about any guy I wanted in this school."  
  
"It doesn't look like it. You're going out with fucking Pettigrew!" Lily jumped into the dispute.  
  
Everyone turned to stare at her. No one had ever heard her cuss like that.  
  
"My point exactly. If you could have any guy in the school, why the hell did you pick Pettigrew?" Celeste argued. "Why didn't you pick Potter or Black or somebody like that?"  
  
"'Cause they're not my type," Mia mumbled. Obviously she was tiring of the argument and rapidly realizing that accepting Peter's offer was going to ruin her reputation. "I could've had Black if I'd wanted him. I just didn't."  
  
"No, you just didn't want to tell Peter that you changed your mind and then show up at the ball with Sirius while he didn't have a partner. You're too NICE for that." Celeste emphasized 'nice' sarcastically.  
  
Mia stomped up to the dormitory, crying. Thus ended a promising friendship between Lily & Celeste and Mia. Most of the school sided with Celeste, though Mia kept a snug circle of friends throughout her school years, namely Sarah, Esther, Hadassah, and Grace, all Hufflepuffs. Luna, surprisingly, sided with Lily and Celeste. They also befriended Megan, Bethany, and Erica. They remained friends for most of their school lives.  
  
~ * ^ * ~ * ^ * ~ * ^ * ~  
  
The Halloween Ball was to last for three days. You were to wear a different costume every night, depending on the theme. The first night it was something you hate. The next night you were to dress up as something you love. The final night you were to dress up in couples or groups.  
  
"What are you guys dressing up as?" Celeste asked idly.  
  
Megan, the practical American, replied automatically. "Well, the first night I'm dressing up as Medusa. Then I'm dressing up as Fortuna, the Roman goddess of chance. Then the third night I'm going as Juno." Megan was practically obsessed with Roman mythology.  
  
The other five girls stared at her. "If you're going as Juno, who's Jupiter?" Bethany asked tentatively.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask. I'm going to the ball with Travis Quinton!" she squealed. Travis was one of the most popular first-year guys in Gryffindor and was friends with Sirius, James, and Remus. He also happened to be very cute, with bright red hair and gray eyes.  
  
The six girls jumped up and danced around the common room, screaming. "Did he ask you or did you ask him?" Celeste asked after they settled down.  
  
Megan tossed her long blondish-brown hair back. "He asked me!"  
  
Celeste squealed again. The other girls stared at her. "What's the big deal?" asked Luna.  
  
"Our own little Megan has reached the ultimate level of coolness! It would be good if she asked him and he said yes, but it's even better that he asked her! It means that the most popular guy likes our little Megan!"  
  
The girls erupted in cheers once again, watched jealously by Mia and her friends.  
  
"So, what are you going as, Erica?" Lily asked.  
  
"Well, my sister Maria is going to help me with the transfiguration, but the first night I'll be a siren, you know, those bird-people. The next night I'll be an octopus. Then, on Couple Night, me an' my hubby are gonna be a dryad and a satyr."  
  
"Awesome! Who's your hubby?" Lily asked.  
  
"Guess," said Erica's playful spirit.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Mark?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Blake?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Alex?"  
  
"Which one? Oelker or Thompson?" Erica asked.  
  
"Hmm, how about… Oelker?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Alex Oelker was a really cute first year. He had blondish-brownish hair and hazel eyes. He also was friends with Sirius, James, and Remus.  
  
"That's great, Erica!" Celeste said.  
  
"Your turn, Bethany! Who are you going with?"  
  
Quiet, shy, smart Bethany had acquired a date that none of them had assumed she ever would. She was going with-  
  
"Mark Weber!?" all other five girls screamed. Mark was Bethany's secret crush, but he was THE single most popular guy in the school, not to mention being the cutest and one of the nicest. No one had ever even known that he had ever noticed Bethany, let alone been attracted to her.  
  
"Yes. I found he is also a fan of Shakespeare. He saw me reading 'Romeo and Juliet' one day and started talking to me about it. He knew it cover-to-cover. It seems we have more than that together, though. He's Muggle-born too, like me! Did you know that?"  
  
All girls shook their heads amazedly.  
  
"He also gets straight A's. I guess I found my competition. And, you know, he isn't as outgoing as everyone thinks. He confessed to me that he has to force himself to talk to everybody. I shouldn't really be telling you guys this, so clam up, okay?"  
  
"Right…" Celeste said bemusedly. For once she was lost for words. For a moment. "What are you going as?"  
  
"Well, the first night I figured I'd go as Echidna. Then, the next night I'll go as Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice."  
  
"What about the third night?"  
  
"Romeo and Juliet, of course! Their story binds us together, me and Mark!"  
  
"Right… Well, Luna, your turn!"  
  
"Well, I'm going with Andrew Kinsley, the Ravenclaw." Celeste inhaled sharply. She despised the other Houses in Hogwarts. "The first night I'm going to go the first night as a sphinx, the second night as my namesake, Luna, the moon goddess, and the third night me and Andrew are going as Cleopatra and Marc Antony."  
  
"Ohh, interesting," Lily said. "I guess it's my turn. I'm going with James, you all know. The first night I'm going as a devil. Then I'm gonna make a costume to be an angel. Me and James are going as Greta Garbo and Clark Gable, because we're both fans of old Muggle movies."  
  
"Awesome!" exclaimed the also Muggle-born Bethany. Everyone looked at her. "Sorry," she muttered, turning crimson.  
  
"Your turn, Celeste," Megan said eagerly.  
  
Celeste took a moment to think. "Well, on the second night I'm going as Venus, the Roman goddess of love. And on the first night I'm going as a Slytherin bitch- pardon my French- a Slytherin banshee."  
  
"May I ask how you're going to do that?" Erica asked.  
  
"Wear a silver and green robe that's all torn up instead of a black one. And lots of makeup."  
  
"Awesome!"  
  
  
  
Next chapter- 'The Halloween Ball'! Very interesting chapter, if I do say so myself. And, yes I introduce myself in this chapter. I couldn't resist. And I also hooked myself up with my crush. One of them… Okay, next chapter. And thanks to my reviewers! More reviews, please!  
  
P.S. I'M NOT OBSESSED WITH ROMAN MYTHOLOGY!!!!! IT DOESN'T EVEN INTEREST ME!!!!!!!!!! 


	7. Truth Hurts

Chapter 7:  
  
The Truth Hurts  
  
Celeste and Sirius continued to ignore their friends and adore one another through January. They sat by each other in classes and at mealtimes, held hands in the corridors, and often disappeared for hours at a time. Celeste and Sirius. Sirius and Celeste. That's the way it was. Until Valentine's Day. The teachers had decided to celebrate Valentine's Day with yet another ball. It would be an all-nighter, but just one night. The students were to dress up as something to do with love. Celeste said, "Lucky I didn't get rid of my Venus costume. I can use it." Sirius was just wearing red dress robes and had lip prints on his face, courtesy of Celeste. There was to be food served at the ball. The Valentine's Day Ball was to start at nine on February the thirteenth (It was a Friday too. Imagine that.) and would continue until six in the morning of the fourteenth. Students would have the days before and after the ball off to catch up on sleep. Celeste didn't even bother to ask her friends what they were going to the ball as. She only cared about her and Sirius. They didn't bother to ask her either. Lily got fired up again the day before the ball. "You know what, James? She didn't even ask me what I was going as! She wouldn't even know if you and I broke up! She doesn't care about me or the others any more! She's too busy with Sirius!" James was completely fed up with Lily being so mad at Celeste. They had been inseparable until the Christmas ball. "You know, Lily, if you cared so much, you'd make an effort to be friends again." He then kissed her on the lips and left her standing there, stunned.  
  
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Celeste and Sirius entered the Great Hall while everyone else was already there. Celeste was dressed in a plain white toga, her hair intricately wound up in a twisting bun. Her feet were bare. She looked like an ancient Roman. The professors had outdone themselves this time. Heart-shaped red bubbles levitated above the heads of the dancers. There were tiny two-person tables covered with white tablecloths instead of the regular House tables. Tiny cupids flew around, handing roses to various students. Celeste got one as soon as she and Sirius walked into the room. "I sense a great aura of love around you, miss. Perhaps the one you pine for is near you?" the tiny cupid said. Sirius and Celeste smiled lovingly at one another. "Yes, he is," Celeste murmured in reply to the cupid. Sirius and Celeste danced beneath the stars until five in the morning. Sirius went in to get a piece of cake and Celeste went with him. They held hands. Sirius grinned at the house-elf that was serving the cake and she gave him an extra-large piece, smiling shyly back. Celeste said, "Only the infamous Sirius Black could swoon a house-elf." Sirius took a bite of cake. "Yeah, I-" His eyes slid out of focus and he slumped against the table. Celeste screamed. "What the hell is wrong with him? What did you do to him? Why is he slumped over like that? Is he dead?" Lily ran over to the table, followed closely by James. She checked Sirius's neck for a pulse. "He's alive," she said, her voice quivering. Dumbledore rushed to the table. The rest of the professors trailed after him. "Minerva, go get Madam Pomfrey. Something has happened to Mr. Black." Even Dumbledore sounded uncertain. Celeste fixed his eyes in an icy stare. "What happened to him? Is he going to be all right?" "Please, Miss Fortuna, calm down. We're doing everything possible to discover what has happened to Mr. Black." Everyone was staring now. The room had gone quiet. "His name is Sirius and my name is Celeste. I am his girlfriend and I demand to know what happened. You are doing nothing to help him. You are standing there staring at him." Before the headmaster could reply, Professor Hartmann, the Potions professor, interrupted. "Veritaserum. I've seen it before." Dumbledore looked alarmed. "Are you sure, Slyva? How could it have happened?" Celeste sniffled and looked up. "What's Veritaserum?" "Truth Potion," Lily whispered. "I don't know how they can tell." All of a sudden Sirius began muttering something. Celeste and Dumbledore both leaned forward to hear. Celeste pushed the professor away. "It's all right, Mum. I won't let Dad hurt you any more. Don't cry, Mum, Harvey will be okay. I miss Harvey, Mum. How could Dad kill him. I'll fight Dad if he tries to hurt you again, Mum." Celeste stepped back from him, sobbing and shaking her head. She now knew the truth about the horrors Sirius had been through. His own father had killed his older brother Harvey. His father violently abused his mother. He had to watch her being tortured. He hadn't gotten the happy childhood he deserved. That's why he reached out to her, hungry for love and affection. She had to know if he really loved her or if he just loved love. "Do you love Celeste?" she whispered to him. He sighed deeply and continued. "I like her as a friend. It is easy to pretend I love her because we have so much in common. She is my best friend. I can kiss her because I know that she'll kiss back. I need the passion that she showers on me because no one has ever treated me like that before. I feed off of it." Sirius said this much louder than he had been speaking before. The hall was dead quiet and everyone could hear. The crowd gasped as one. Celeste's eyes flashed dangerously, then filled with fresh tears. A shriek of sheer rage ripped from her throat as she threw herself at the door. Lily lunged for her and missed. Professor McGonagall (who had just returned) grabbed her arm. Celeste gave her a look that made her let go. The pure terror mirrored in her eyes was enough to send a pang of fear straight to the heart of the most inexpressive person alive. Celeste tore down the hallways toward the front doors. A rumble of thunder and the crack of lightning sounded outside just before a gale of wind burst open the door and Celeste ran outside. Lily was just behind her but lost her in the onslaught of rain that magically sprang up from Celeste's wrath. Finally she spotted her. Celeste was beside the lake, obviously getting ready to jump in and drown herself. The last words Lily heard her speak were, "Whatever you say, Sirius, I still love you!" She leapt into the lake. Lily tried to follow. James grabbed her arm. He couldn't tell if it was tears or just rain streaming down Lily's face.  
  
Quick, action-packed chapter. Just how I like 'em. Please review. 


	8. To Tell The Truth

Celeste woke up three weeks later in the hospital wing. Sirius was lying on the bed beside her, passed out. The clock said that it was four fifty-six in the morning. Madam Pomfrey glided into the room. She carried a tray loaded with food. Celeste realized then that she was starving. While Celeste ate, she thought about the anger that coursed through her veins at Sirius. She also wondered how they had managed to save her from the churning waters of the lake. She speculated why Sirius was in the hospital wing with her. And she wondered if they figured out how Sirius had gotten the Veritaserum in him. Celeste kind of wished that she'd never known Sirius didn't love her. But then again, she was glad he hadn't gone on pretending to love her. She HAD loved him. Celeste would miss the endless hours of snuggle-time with him, and the talks. How could he not love her? She was perfect for him! Celeste pondered where she'd gone wrong. Sirius had always appeared to love her. How could he be so heartless? Madam Pomfrey came back into the wing. "Celeste, are you feeling well?" "Except for a broken heart, I am fine," Celeste replied earnestly. The nurse tutted. "You were too young for that kind of relationship anyway. Give him a couple of years and he'll fall in love with you." Celeste took a deep draught of sleeping potion. "But I'll never fall back in love with him." Madam Pomfrey wandered back to her office. She muttered, "If only that were true. You'll never stop loving him. He'll end up REALLY breaking your heart." If only the nurse had known how true her words were. (READ UNFAITHFUL BY ALESSANDRA GUISEPPE)  
  
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Celeste woke again at nine-thirty. Lily and James were sitting on an empty bed near by. All of her other friends were lounging around the room. Lily jumped up and squealed. "Celeste! You're up!" "Yeah, me. Why is HE here?" Celeste asked, violently nodding her head toward Sirius's bed. "He's not left since you got in here." Lily beamed. Celeste scowled. "He doesn't want to be here. He knows I know, right?" Her friends looked very uncomfortable. "Well, not really." Megan confessed. "Megan!" her friends hissed. "She needs to know. Look at all she's been through! Finding out her boyfriend doesn't love her and then attempting suicide!" Megan said earnestly. There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room. Travis got up, kissed Megan on the cheek, and whispered, "My smart baby girl." This brought tears to Celeste's eyes. She had just realized that she was the only one of her friends who didn't have a boyfriend and Sirius wouldn't kiss her anymore. It brought small satisfaction to know that Sirius wasn't gonna be getting any either. Then Celeste remembered something else. Sirius's need for passion and the torture he'd been through. Well, he'd tortured her, so why should she care? But she still did.  
  
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Sirius didn't wake until noon. Lily told Celeste, "He's hardly slept for the last three weeks. Don't blame him." I DO blame him. He hurt me. He didn't love me and it took Veritaserum for him to admit it. I blame everything on him. My life is ruined because of him. And Heaven help him if he tries to apologize. But Celeste couldn't get his unsatisfactory childhood out of her head. She was not willing to admit this. When she got word that he'd woken up and was coming to see her, she disappeared outside. Celeste went to the opposite side of the lake. Finally she could let her feelings out. She had held them in because Lily had insisted on going everywhere with her. Celeste had a nagging suspicion that Lily was afraid Celeste would try to commit suicide again. A slow smile spread across Celeste's face through her tears. Maybe I will, she thought. Celeste moped around for about an hour, thinking about where she'd go from there. Soon she had planned out her whole life, and kept wanting to include Sirius. It's not gonna happen, she told herself. You can never love that bastard again. But Madam Pomfrey's words kept coming back to her. You were too young for that kind of relationship anyway. Give him a couple years and he'll fall in love with you. Celeste couldn't help but hope the nurse's words were true.  
  
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Sirius had been all over the school looking for Celeste. There was something the others were hiding from him. He could tell. Did Celeste attempt to commit suicide again and succeed? He hoped not. Sirius still had no clue why she would want to in the first place. She would've succeeded the first time if Dumbledore had not quickly performed a levitation charm and brought her out of the waves, unconscious. Lily had told him what happened. But they had left something out. And why didn't he remember it? Sirius went outside and plopped down on the steps. He was bone weary. A bright red wool jacket on the other side of the lake caught his attention. It was Celeste. What was she doing over there? Didn't she know he was looking for her? Lily said she'd told her. Sirius started over. Celeste didn't see him coming. "What are you doing here, honey?" Sirius asked her softly, frightening her. "Trying to get away from you," she told him sincerely. Sirius gave her a look of surprise, then walked over to her and nuzzled her. "You're kidding." Celeste was torn. She could pretend like nothing had ever happened. Or she could tell him the truth.  
  
Oh, God, I can't decide! Please, review and vote for either Celeste telling Sirius that she knows or for her pretending nothing had ever happened. Yeah, quickie chappie, who cares? I couldn't go on without votes. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! 


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